The present invention relates to a basketball rebound training device for mounting to the hoops of a basketball goal and more particularly to a basketball rebound trainer which can be easily inserted and removed from the hoop.
To be an efficient basketball player requires training in rebounding and follow-up tip-in shots and it has become common practice to devote a great deal of practice to these skills. In order to provide the opportunity for the practice of such maneuvers, an initial shot must be missed. It is therefore difficult to duplicate actual game conditions in practice sessions with dependable regularity for a player to become proficient in rebounding.
In the past, it has become common to place an undersized ring on the basketball goal ring to obtain proficiency in shooting basketball goals. It has also been the practice on occasion to cover the basketball goal ring so that the ball will rebound therefrom to obtain practice in rebounding. In addition, rebounding devices have been known in the past as well as practice rings and a typical rebounding device might be clamped rigidly to the basketball hoop.
A typical basketball rebound practice device can be seen in the Hair patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,687, in which a basketball rebound practice device fits the hoop of a basketball goal and provides ready determination of a successful goal attempt and a prompt return of the basketball to the playing area for successful rebounding or goal attempts. In the Dix patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,840, a resiliently mounted basketball practice and rebound ring is mounted to a basketball hoop and includes a ring smaller than a basketball goal ring but larger than a basketball with resilient straps on the practice ring having hooks to connect the practice ring to the goal ring.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,189 to Carroll, a basketball tipping practice device is attached across the mouth of the basketball goal hoop. In the Voltz et al. patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,910,574 and 3,795,401, a basketball rebound dome is provided in the shape of a convex surface member having a plurality of raised protuberances thereon against which a basketball may strike to cause erratic bouncing. The dome is held to the rim of a basketball goal by a plurality of radially extending clamps. In the Kaerwer patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,150, a basketball goal ejector is provided while in the Crisp patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,694,572, a basketball practice device made up of several rings attached to a frame which attaches to the basketball hoop and supports the ring and frame above the hoop to provide means for the. basketball players to practice his tipping and rebounding from the basket.
In contrast to these prior art rebound practicing devices, the present rebound trainer advantageously drops into the basketball goal hoop and supports itself to the hoop without any exterior clamps and is thus easily removed from the basketball hoop when the practice session has ended.
A basketball rebound trainer for mounting in a basketball hoop has a body having a flexible surface and having filler material therein and an upper portion forming a basketball striking surface and a lower portion sized to fit into a basketball hoop and extending therebelow and a flanged support portion located between said upper body portion and the lower body portion and being sized to fit onto the basketball hoop to support the body. The body upper portion flexible surface has a plurality of generally rigid basketball striking, surfaces mounted thereto through the flexible surface to a backing plate thereunder. The striking surfaces are generally wedged shaped and a plurality of the surfaces have an angle of approximately 30xc2x0 to the horizontal plane of the hoop. The body flexible surface may include an inflatable bladder thereinside.